Minimum Wage Increase 2018: How Does it Affect Pasadena Workers?

As California is headed towards a minimum wage of $15, lower-paid workers in California will now be getting at least $10.50 per hour under the state’s new minimum-wage laws.

Starting January 1, 2018, employers will now be legally required to raise the minimum wage by $0.50, up from $10 last year. The legal changes apply to small companies with 25 or fewer employees.

Employees at larger firms enjoy an even larger hourly pay boost, as their minimum wage now reaches $11 per hour, up from $10.50 in 2017.

California is unrolling new minimum-wage requirements almost every year, as the state is on its path to set a minimum wage at $15 for employees at larger companies by 2022. Workers employed at smaller firms, meanwhile, will be getting at least $15 an hour in 2023.

How does the minimum wage increase affect Pasadena workers?

Minimum-wage law requirements, however, won’t affect Pasadena workers until July 2018. Our wage fraud attorneys at Rager Offices Law explain that employees in the city are already getting $10.50 an hour at small companies.

In Pasadena, Los Angeles and Santa Monica, employees at larger firms are getting $12 an hour. However, this year will bring more income to Pasadena lower-paid workers after all.

Starting July 1 2018, local wage laws will require employers in Pasadena and Los Angeles to pay employees a minimum wage of $12 for smaller firms and $13.25 for larger firms. In such a way, Pasadena employees will reach a minimum pay of $15 in 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Pros and cons of increasing minimum wage

Financial experts outline both advantages and disadvantages of increasing minimum wage in Pasadena. Among its pros are reducing the enormous gap between rich and poor, and helping California families afford houses among high housing costs, which keep rising year by year.

Among its cons are, on the other hand, many small businesses going bankrupt or going through extreme staff cuts in order to afford increased minimum pay for its employees.

Although many believe that rising minimum wage allows Pasadena families to afford more goods and services, in reality minimum pay increases almost always drive up prices on goods. Other skeptics also believe that minimum pay increases lead to fewer job opportunities.

Pasadena employers violating minimum wage laws

Our Pasadena wage fraud attorneys at Rager Offices Law outline one major downside of increasing minimum wage: employers engaging in unfair and illegal activities in order to reduce costs associated with rising wages.

In Pasadena and elsewhere in Los Angeles, employers may delay increasing minimum wage for their lower-paid employees while making seemingly legitimate excuses.

The truth is, however, that all employers in Pasadena will be legally required to boost minimum pay to at least $12 per hour for smaller firms and $13.25 for larger firms starting July 1. Not doing so is a clear violation of state laws in California, which means employees may be able to take legal action to hold dishonest employers responsible for their illegal actions.

However, you’d have to prove that your employer failed to increase your minimum wage or engage in any other type of wage fraud intentionally (and that it wasn’t a payroll mistake or misunderstanding). Other common types of wage fraud in California include:

Unpaid Salary

Wage Fraud

Unpaid Benefits and Overtime

Failure to Pay Commissions

Wage-and-Hour Claims

Such employers face the following legal consequences and penalties: up to $10,000 in fines, tens of thousands of dollars in penalties, jail time (up to 12 months), liquidated damages, liability to the employee for the unpaid wages (back pay), and other damages.

If your Pasadena employer has failed to boost your minimum wage and you’re earning less than $12 per hour at smaller firms and $13.25 at larger firms starting July 1, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages and back wages.

Consult our best wage fraud attorneys in Pasadena by calling Rager Offices Law at 310-527-6994 or fill out this contact form to get a free initial consultation.